Decorative coverings are used in vehicle interiors to provide a desirable aesthetic for vehicle occupants and are usually applied over less attractive structural or functional components of the vehicle, effectively concealing such components from view while providing the occupants with a feeling of comfort. Decorative coverings are made from many different types of materials, such as textile fabrics, leather, imitation leather, polymer-based films, or combinations thereof, and can include any of a variety of textures, shapes, colors, patterns, and other aesthetic characteristics.
Leather is often considered a premium material, in part because of the additional costs incurred when working with leather in a vehicle component manufacturing environment. For example, while many manufacturing processes can be and have been automated, manufacturing operations such as sewing separate pieces of material together continue to be performed by human operators, whose ability to visually monitor the operation and continually make manual adjustments has not been replicated by any type of cost-effective automation.
Chinese utility model CN 203715975 by Wang et al. discloses an automated method for aligning an edge of an imitation leather material with an edge of a release liner during a lamination process in which the two materials are laminated together. Each material is provided in roll stock form, and the lamination process is a continuous one. The process uses a vision system to monitor edge alignment and moves the roll stock material from side-to-side to correct any misalignment during the continuous process. There is no disclosure regarding alignment of the edge of the laminated material with an edge of a different material while forming a seam in a joining operation.